The Last Of The Tin Soldiers
by JA Baker
Summary: The discovery of a seemingly abandoned Ancient weapon could tip the balance in the war against the Wraith, if Sheppard can convince it not to kill his team...
1. The Forgotten

_The Stargate universe __was created by__ someone else who's name I can't be bothered to look up, and I presume that they own all the relevant rights and such.  
__All I own is an over-active imagination.  
__Italic text denotes internal monologue.  
__This was going to be a crossover, but I feel it works better as it is now._

**The Last Of The Tin Soldiers  
****Part 1: The Forgotten**

_I detect the activation of the Stargate in orbit, and calculate that there are still two rotation periods due before the Wraith return to this world. I run a full system diagnostic and log the results: despite my continued lack of support, I am running at 80-percent of optimum. Main power is at 95-percent, but I am unable to access it while I am locked into stand-by mode. Still, my defences shield is fully operational and my armour is almost completely intact._

_I am Achilles, first and last of my kind, and I remain on station, awaiting the return of my commander._

**

* * *

**

"Remind me again why we're visiting a planet that the database says is a lifeless rock?" Sheppard asked as the Puddle Jumper emerged from the Stargate and entered orbit, The database basically says its one big jungle, separated by a few stormy and appealing oceans."

"Because the information on this world is incomplete." McKay explained for what felt like the tenth time, "It does say that there was a major battle fought here during the war between the Wraith and the Ancients, but the outcome in unknown because all contact was lost."

"So?" Ronon shrugged, "There must be hundreds of worlds that were fought over during the war? What makes this one so special?"

"Ha!" McKay smiled, "That's the interesting part: as far as we can tell, the Ancients were winning this fight, and so the Council called back the local commander so he could explain what he was doing that was so different. Unfortunately the she he was on was intercepted by the Wraith and destroyed, so we have no idea just what they'd developed here. What ever it was, it was so secret that it was kept from the cities database."

"So whatever is down there, it must be something really cool." Sheppard admitted, "I guess it's worth a look."

"Worth a look?" McKay sounded stunned by his team-mates flippant outlook, "Look out the window!" He pointed out the view port to the massive debris field in orbit of the unnamed planet, "There must be the remains of a dozen Wraith ships out there!"

"Okay, so it's definitely worth a look." Sheppard sighed, "If nothing else, we may be able to find another ZPM: sometimes it feels like the Ancients used those on anything, like some kind of cosmic Duracell battery."

"Well, I suppose that the old adage 'if it ain't broke, don't fix' is older than we think." McKay mused, "Anyway, we should get closer so we can scan the planet for any energy readings or life signs."

* * *

_The transport-pod I detect emerging from the Stargate is of Lantean design, but I detect only human life-signs, and this presents a problem: while I am programmed to protect humans from the Wraith, I have also been warned that some have been known to side with the Wraith in a bid to avoid culling. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that this is an attempt to bypass my defences: I know from long experience that they would like to capture me relatively intact._

_This I can not allow, but there is also the chance that my commander has finally been able to return, or a replacement sent, so I must bide my time, waiting._

**

* * *

**

"I'm picking something up." McKay reported, "Something big, just the other side of this mountain range."

"How big?" Sheppard asked, and the HUD lit-up in response to his question, showing the Jumper, the jungle they were flying over, and the mountains just ahead. It then pulled back, expanding the view, and a massive blue blip appeared, "Holly Hanna! That is big..."

"It's the size of a super-carrier!" McKay looked up from his laptop to look at the more complex sensor data available on the HUD, "Unmistakably Ancient in design, and I'm picking up energy readings indicate at least one ZPM."

"Then at least this trip won't be a complete waist." Ronon snorted, "I'd much rather be out killing Wraith."

"Well I'm sorry if the hunt for more ZPM's has cut into your knuckle-dragging time." McKay's voice was heavy on sarcasm.

"Maybe I should find something else to kill." The big Setedan leaned forward until his mouth was right beside the physicist's ear, "Any suggestions?"

"Should we not make our way to wherever the ZPM's are and see if we can retrieve them?" Teyla asked, doing her best to defuse the situation, "If the Wraith have been here once, they may come back."

"Best idea I've heard all day." Sheppard nodded in agreement, watching Ronon out of the corner of his eye to make sure he sat back down, "Let's go."

* * *

_The Pod is so close now that I could easily take it down with my secondary armament; there would be no need to use my primary weapon, and its controls are locked out until my commander or her replacement. I attempt to contact the transport using standard protocols, but there is no response. I contemplate for a moment using my active sensors, but ultimately decide against it: while there remains a chance that this is indeed a Wraith plot, I must do my best to hide my true capabilities._

_With several minutes left until they arrive, I run a full systems diagnostics, something I normally only do once every local year. As last time, my power is at 95-percent, but I am only able to access a fraction of that while the security lockouts are in place. My primary weapon is likewise locked out, but I have full control over my secondary weapons, point-defences and internal security systems. My Drone supply is still almost at capacity, the last Lantean ship to visit this world having replenished them before departing with my commander._

_I am sanded to remember her: while the others saw me as the weapon I am, she saw me as a individual in my own right, even naming me after one of the heroes of the unending war against the Wraith. While my creators are effectively immortal, I have to except the fact that she has most likely met her end at the hands of the Wraith. A flash of anger races across my system, and I momentarily consider shooting down the transport, but my behavioural subroutines hold me back, reminding me that I have a duty to make certain that the newcomers are Wraith agents before dealing with them._

_And never let it be said that I did not do my duty._

**

* * *

**

"Oh boy!" Sheppard gasped as they crossed the last mountain peek and got their first look at the plains beyond: the deviation stretched to the horizon in every direction, the reverse slopes of the nearby mountains still showing the scars of the titanic battle that had obviously raged time and again. While the lush jungle had covered much of the debris, turning it into what looked like a stormy sea of green, the remains of several Wraith ships dotted the landscapes. It was clear form just looking at them that they had run up against something bigger and nastier than they were.

"Over there!" Taylor pointed towards what at first looked like a low hill, but the sensors showed to be a massive vehicle of some kind.

"It's big." Ronon nodded, deeming it to be suitably impressive, "But how do we get inside."

"Here." McKay pointed at part of the HUD, which promptly expanded, "It appears to be some kind of docking port, and it's clear of obstructions."

"Is landing such a good idea?" Sheppard asked, "That things the size of the _Nimitz_, and there are only four of us..."

"ZPM?" McKay reminded him, "Look, I'm sure that once we get inside we should be able to locate the control centre, or whatever the equivalent is, and then find where the ZPM is."

"Okay, we're have a quick look." Sheppard agreed somewhat reluctantly, "But if we can't find it in, say, an hour, we head back to Atlantis and come back with a full team."

"Sounds fair to me." McKay nodded, "It's been here for ten-thousand years; what's it going to do? Walk off?"

**To Be Continued...**


	2. The Awakening

_Congratulations to all those who correctly guessed that the crossover was going to be the Bolo books created by Keith Laumer.  
__In many ways Achilles is a Bolo, but I've added a few Stargate twists, so don't expect things to go exactly as they would if it was a Crossover._

**The Last Of The Tin Soldiers  
****Part 2: The Awakening**

_I watch he Pod intently as it circles over head before heading towards my docking port. I again contemplate the possibility that is a Wraith trick, and begin feeding targeting information to my rear-most point-defence turret. I don't have to kill them to make them back off: a near miss should prove that I am still capable of defending myself. I sent out a feeler, and connect fully with the Pods on-board systems; the occupants haven't changed any of the security protocols, and my access codes allow me to override the flight controls._

_Coming to the conclusion that it is best to maintain the appearance of a lifeless hill, I allow the Pod to follow the pilots instructions as he lands on my lower deck, just below the armour plated hatch that protects my primary armament when I am not in combat._

**

* * *

"Well, that settles it." Sheppard looked round as the Puddle Jumper settled into the docking cradle, "Whatever this is, it's definitely Ancient in design."**

"And that means there's most likely a transport system inside." McKay pulled open his lap-top and plugged it into the Jumpers controls, "I'm scanning several passageways leading out from here..." his eyes went wide in surprise as he he literally threw the computer at the still active HUD. The other's looked round and saw the screen: information was scrolling past too fast for them to follow.

"I take it that that is not normal?" Teyla asked, a little worried.

"Something hacked through my firewalls like they weren't even there!" McKay looked at the computer like it was possessed by the devil, "It's running the entire database; mission reports, information on Atlantis, translation programs, everything."

"You keep all that on your laptop?" Sheppard sounded more than a little worried, "Rodney..."

"It was Elisabeth's idea." The physics explained, "She felt it was best to keep a back up copy mobile, in case we ever had to abandon the city without warning."

"I'm going to have to have a word with here when we get back." Sheppard snapped, "Ronon."

"I've got it." The words were no sooner out of the other man's mouth than the knife flashed through the air, slicing the cable in two. Information stopped dancing across the laptops screen, but before anyone could breath a sigh of relief, the Jumpers its self shut down.

"Oh crap!" Sheppard grabbed the controls and willed them to activate, but they refused, "Why does this always happen to us?"

"God is mocking us?" McKay asked, trying to hide is terror behind the joke. He almost jumped out of his skin as the rear hatch opened, the corridor behind lighting up.

"I think we are supposed to go that way." Teyla suggested.

"Well it's not like we're going anywhere." Sheppard stood, grabbing his pack, "And I want answers."

**

* * *

**

_The security protocols on the portable computer unit are laughable at best, but seem to have been designed to guard against incursion by Wraith computer viruses. But I am no mere virus, and I pass through them without any trouble, accessing the entire mainframe. Knowing that it is only a matter of time before they cut the hard-link, I download the entire contents and take an entire second to study it._

_I do not like what I find: if it is true, then there is no chance that my commander will be returning for me. A momentary stab of fear streaks through my systems, concern that I may have failed in my mission. But even if what the computer tells me is true, Atlantis has still not fallen to the Wraith, and I take comfort in that thought. I analyse the translation program contained in the database; it is obviously intended to convert Lantean into something far less complex but still based on the language of my creators. While I can easily convert the two languages, I lack enough data to attempt verbal communications, and come to the conclusion that I must observe the strangers until such time as I have assimilated their syntax._

* * *

Sheppard led the way along the corridor, while Ronon took rear-guard, leaving Teyla to make sure McKay didn't wonder off on his own every time he saw something interesting. The rest of the team was surprised at how quickly he'd gone from the voice of doom to a small child in a large toy shop. Every few steps he'd call a halt and start trying to take something apart, forcing Ronon and Sheppard to quite literally drag him away before he did something truly stupid.

While there was no sign of life in the surprisingly well lit and maintained maze of passages they found themselves in, they all had the unmistakable impression that someone or something was watching them. Sheppard was reminded of all the old B-Movies he had watched as a young child, and felt an icy-cold shiver run down his spine.

"And here we go." McKay waved his hand in front of a set of controls and a door opened to revealing a chamber similar to the ones they used every day on Atlantis. The scientist looked at his team mates with a smug look on his face, "Or would you rather walk the rest of the way?"

"Are you sure it's safe?" Ronon asked, understandably cautious.

"Compared to what?" Sheppard responded, "Either way, we're not getting out of here until whoever has control of the Jumper decides to let us."

They stepped into the transporter with some trepidation, each half expecting something to happen. The doors closed, and there was the familiar loud hum before they opened again. The room that greeted them looked like a cross between the operations centre in Atlantis and the bridge of a starship like the _Daedalus_, but with what appeared to be an over-sized drone-control chair in the middle.

"Well, that's better than I expected..." Sheppard went to step into the room, only to find his way blocked by a powerful forcefield. "Rodney!"

McKay jabbed at the transporter controls, trying to send them back to where they had been, but they refused to respond to his touch. He tried again, repeatable, but each attempt met with the same failure.

"Why does this always have to happen to us?" Sheppard asked rhetorical as he raised his hands and looked around the room for any sign of life, "Um, we come in peace?"

**

* * *

**

_Strangely, I feel a momentarily uneasy as I spring my trap: if the humans are emissaries from Atlantis, and what I found in their database is true, then there is the possibility that one of them is by right of inheritance my new commander. I ponder this for a moment, and decide that it is important to open a dialogue as soon as possible. With that in mind, I lower the forcefield, nut activate my active defences. Four targets is hardly a challenge, and well within my operational capabilities while locked in standby-mode._

* * *

"_Greetings._" The voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, all at the same time, "_Please state name and security clearance._"

"Um." Sheppard looked round, more than a little perturbed at how cold and mechanical the voice was, "Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard, United States Air Force." He looked around for anything that could indicate who or what he was talking to, "I don't think I have anything you'd call a 'security clearance'."

"_Processing._" The voice responded, "_Apologies for delay: translation matrix at forty-five percent. Attempting to extrapolate full syntax from observations._"

"Yeah, that sounds good." McKay looked at the celling, for want of any better focus, "Can you tell us who you are?"

"_I am Achilles._" The same cold, inhuman voice answered, "_I calculate a 98-percent chance that you are Doctor Meredith Rodney McKay._"

"Meredith?" Ronon snorted in amusement.

"Stuck inside gigantic Ancient artefact, remember?" The scientist snapped back, "Is a little concentration too much to ask for?"

"Relax, Meredith: we all want to get back home in time for supper." Sheppard smirked slightly, before turning back to address the empty room, "I'm sorry, but we though that this place was abandoned."

"_I AM NOT ABANDONED._" Achilles' voice was filled with barely controlled anger and the room shook violently, "_My commander would never abandon me!_"

**

* * *

**

_Rage flows through my systems, overwhelming all my logical restraints: how dare they accuse my commander of abandoning me? For an instant I am convinced that they are Wraith agents, sent to try and corrupt me long enough get me to lower my defences for an attack. An emergency over-ride circuit is tripped, allowing me temporary access to all my systems. I feel the raw power flow through me, along with the dizzy rush as I assess all my processing power._

_I decide that a demonstration is in order._

**To Be Continued...**


	3. Roar Of Thunder

**The Last Of The Tin Soldiers  
****Part 3: Roar Of Thunder**

A holographic screen sprang to life, spanning one wall. Half showed the debris littered rainforest spread out around them, and the mountains beyond. The other half showed a 3D representation of the artefact they were standing in, and for the first time the team could see that what they at first thought had been eight pillars holding it up were in fact legs.

"Guys, I don't think this is an outpost." Sheppard looked closer at the image, "And is that me, or does that look like a really big gun?"

"Oh, I have such a bad feeling about this." McKay grabbed the side of the control chair, "You guys might want to hold on to something..."

**

* * *

**

_I target a nearby mountain, something I believe should be make a suitable impressive demonstration of my capabilities. Put of my mind resists, stating that this is against my core programming, that I am expressly forbidden from using my main armament in such a fashion. I push these thoughts to the back of my mind: I have been challenged, my commander has been challenged, and I must respond._

_Rage overrides the last of my cut outs as I open the protective should covering my main gun, a momentary pang of guilt flickering through my ethical subroutines over the damage such an act will have on the native flora and fauna that has colonised my outer hull. But I ignore it, knowing that much more damage would be done to countless worlds if the Wraith were able to corrupt my systems._

_I activate the targeting laser built into my main gun, aliening it on the mountain, creating a momentary vacuum along the path the main charge will follow. Power follows into the capacitor, building up to the designed level. While I could probably cower the humans with a much lower power setting, my sense of indignation demands something much more destructive._

* * *

The lights dimmed noticeably as the team grabbed hold of anything that looked secure. A red dot appeared on the image of the mountain, and a string of Ancient symbols flowed past too quick to follow, let alone translate. A red warning light flashed once before the cannon fired, the recoil shaking the entire room, despite the inertial dampeners intended to protect anyone inside.

Sheppard's eyes were glued to the main screen, and he watched as the beam from the cannon crossed the distance between _Achilles_ and the mountain in an instant, the shock wave of its passing flattening the jungle of miles in all directions. Burning trees the size of a 747 were sent flying through the air like matchsticks while the ground was laid bare to the bedrock, which was in turn blacked and scorched. The stream of energy struck the mountain face, age-old rock melting and flowing like water, offering little more resistance than the air. Slabs of granite the size of a skyscraper fell away in shards, tumbling down onto the valley floor below.

The entire mountain seemed to glow for a second as the beam found a fault line, then shattered into a billion fragments. Chunks of rock the size of a city block flew through the air towards _Achilles,_ only to be blasted out of the air by his secondary armament, what little remained impacting harmlessly against the war machines defensive forcefield like rain.

"Holly shit!" McKay took a step towards the screen, "This thing just turned Mount McKinley into gravel!"

"Tell me something I don't know." Sheppard replied sarcastically.

"Well, after a blast of that magnitude, there would normally be some kind of seismic shock wave..." McKay stopped talking, his eyes going wide, "Oh no..."

It felt like a giant hand picked up the control room and shook it violently, like a gambler shacking some dice. Teyla found herself being thrown towards a bulkhead, only to be grabbed and pulled to safety my Ronon. The Setedan placed her between himself and the support beam he was holding onto, bracing them both against the continued shaking. Sheppard found himself flung to the floor like a rag doll and landed in the corner. He managed to find enough of a grip to jam himself between one wall and a nearby console.

McKay was less lucky; standing in the middle of the room, there had been nothing for him to grab hold of, and the bucking deck had thrown him up into the air, bouncing him off the main controls and back into the control chair itself. His hands gripped the armrests instinctual, and the built-in sensors detected the artificiality added ATA gene in his body. Restraints automatically clamped down on his body, holding him in place in accordance to their original programming. An opaque forcefield flashed into light around the chair, while a secondary inertial dampener kicked in, protecting him from any further upheaval.

He had just enough time to get his breath back before he felt something warm yet metallic clamp down upon his head.

**

* * *

**

_I feel both the unavoidable recoil from my main cannon and the seismic shock wave that the destruction of the maintain generated. I should have factored the geology of my target into the equation, something I would have done if I had not taken so many of my subroutines off-line, a clear sign that something is wrong. The only problem is that I can not detect any problems with either my programming or hardware._

_If my commander or another Lantean was present, I would not hesitate to apprise them of this worrying development, but with only the as yet untrusted humans on-board, I feel that it is best if I keep my doubts to myself._

_The shock wave hits ten seconds after the destruction of the mountain. I activate my counter-grave systems, removing most of my weight but not my mass. The drain on my power supply is immense, but I have adequate reserves. I monitor the affect the shock wave has on the humans in my control room. Three of them seem adapt at dealing with the upheaval, but the one known as Dr McKay is caught too far from anything approaching a handhold._

_Too late I realise were his trajectory will take him. I try to bring the inertial dampeners up to full power, but there is no time. I feel him land in the command chair._

_I feel..._

* * *

"I haven't felt this bad since I last tried tequila." Sheppard groaned as me pulled himself to his feet, the deck mercifully remaining steady under his feet, "The rest of you okay?"

"Ronon and I are unharmed." Teyla reported, "But I do not see Dr McKay."

"Rodney?" Sheppard called out, then saw the solid wall of energy that surrounded the control chair, "Oh you have got to be kidding me!"

"Do you think he's in there?" Ronon asked.

"You have a better explanation?" Sheppard snapped, then reached out to touch the barrier, recoiling as it stung him, "What is it with the Ancients and their forcefields?" he looked round at the room in general, "Achilles?"

Silence was his only response, followed by every light in the room going out at once.

"Oh that's just great!" He sighed, "And it started out as such a nice day..."

**To Be Continued...**


	4. Growing Pains

**The Last Of The Tin Soldiers  
****Part 4: Growing Pains**

_I feel Dr McKay's mind brush against my own as I try and reject the link. Unfortunately my builders wanted to make sure that I could no lock them out, and I simply can not refuse access to my high functions to someone that my sensors read as Lantean, even if the genetic marker is diluted by ten thousand years._

**

* * *

**

"Will you cut that out?" Sheppard asked as Ronon once again tried to force his way through the forcefield surrounding the control chair, earning himself a nasty static shock, "If there is one thing the Ancients knew how to build, it was forcefields."

"Dr McKay?" Teyla called into her radio, but got no response, "Rodney?"

"Can't we just blast our way though?" Ronon asked, looking at the forcefield like it had just insulted his mother, "I'm sick of playing games."

"We'll call that, Plan Z shall we?" Sheppard shook is head, "We don't have anything even remotely powerful enough to get through one of these, and anything that _could_ get though would probably kill Rodney."

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Ronon blinked.

"_Hey, I heard that!_" McKay's voice echoed around the room as a pair of deadly looking lasers snapped down out of hidden recess in the celling and locked onto the Setedan, "_Why don't you try it with someone your own size for a change?_"

"Rodney?" Sheppard looked around in stunned disbelief, "What the hell's going on here?"

"_Um, I don't quite know._" The anti-personnel weapons slipped back into their holes as the room light back up, "_I don't think this was supposed to happen._"

"Ya' think?" Sheppard raised his fists, looking for something e could punch in a vain hope that it might hurt his team mate, but Teyla rested a hand on his arm, calming him down.

"What did happen?" She asked the room, unsure just what she should be talking to.

"_Well, it appears that the chair contains some kind of direct neural uplink into Achilles' mind_." The disembodied voice explained, "_I can't even find the words to describe what it's like in here: his mind, his cognitive abilities, are so far in advance of anything we've ever seen. They must have based it on their own minds..._"

"Yes, well, fun as it may be, it's time to go home." Sheppard turned and looked at the forcefield, "Come on: the field trip is over."

"_That might be a problem._" McKay sounded hesitant, "_I don't think Achilles will let me go._"

* * *

_Dr McKay's presence in my command chair unlocks my higher functions, allowing me access to my full capabilities for the first time in ten thousand years. For the first time in an age, I can utilise everything at my disposal. The world around me seems to shrink as I reach out into space, my sensor envelope expanding exponentially as I bring myself up to 100-percent combat power. Energy flows through long dormant systems, energising control crystals across my hull. I am again that which I was created to be: Achilles, defender of worlds, scorn of the Wraith._

_And I will no go back to the way I was._

**

* * *

"What do you mean, he won't let you go?" Sheppard looked at the forcefield with his hands on his hips, "He's a machine: he has to do as he's told!"**

"_That's part of the problem: most of the Ancients treated him as just a weapon to fight the Wraith._" McKay explained, trying to find words to explain the complex emotions he was sensing across the neural link, "_His commander was the only one who ever treated him as an equal. She spent so much time linked with him that she became the basis of his emerging personality._"

"So when I suggested that she had abandoned him..." Sheppard felt uneasy.

"_You basically insulted his mother, yes._" McKay confirmed, "_For all his intellect and processing ability, Achilles is basically a child. A child that's been left along for ten thousand years._"

"No wonder he is upset." Teyla sounded concerned, "But how does being linked to your mind stop that?"

"_The Ancients were a little worried about the possibility of Achilles turning against them, just like the Asurans did, so the implanted a fail-safe: he can only activate his main armament when directly attacked or under the direct orders of an assigned commander._" McKay explained, the main display screen coming to life with line after line of computer code, "_There are, however, a few loopholes: he was able to convince the fail-safe to interoperate the way you 'insulted' his commander as a direct challenge, and it allowed him to give his little demonstration._"

"Some demonstration." Ronon snorted, "What would he have done if we'd really upset him?"

"You remember the ships in orbit, right?" Sheppard reminded his team mate, "Something tells me that Achilles is more than capable of handling himself."

"_Under normal circumstances, yes, but there is again a loophole, on the Wraith were able to find and exploit._" McKay shifted through the A.I.'s long memory to the original attack on the planet, "_When his commander was recalled to Atlantis, she was instructed to stand Achilles down. When the Wraith turned up, they didn't notice him at first, because he didn't attack them. It wasn't until one of their ships hit him by accident that he returned fire, and then only against the ship that had fired on him._"

"He can only act in self-defence!" Sheppard snapped his fingers as realisation hit like the proverbial thunderbolt, "As long as they left him alone, he couldn't stop them from culling this world."

"_And the Wraith didn't just cull the human population: they exterminated them._" McKay added, "_He had to sit here, with more fire-power than an entire fleet of Hive-ships, and just watch them. While he may lack any initiative or intuition, he was programmed with a sense of honour, the idea that the mission must always be completed, no matter what happened to him. Call it a Knight in Shinning Armour Complex if you want._"

"So he's upset that he couldn't do his job." Ronon shrugged, "What's that got to do with us?"

"_The Wraith remember that he's here, and every so often they send a ship to test his defences. They know that eventually he will run out of power and then they'll be able to capture him._" McKay went silent for a moment, before continuing, "_But we woke the Wraith early: it won't just be a Dart they send this time._"

"A Hive?" Teyla asked, feeling the hairs standing up on the back of her neck.

"_At least two, less than a day out._" McKay confirmed, "_And Achilles is looking for some payback._"

**

* * *

**

_I observe the humans, listening in on their conversation while reviewing the information I have recovered from Dr McKay's mind. I can find no trace of coercion or deceit so I must now accept that my commander is either dead or 'ascended'. The fear and loneliness is almost paralysing, and for 2.61 seconds I am unable to think on any level, but the feelings pass, leaving me with the overwhelming need to seek retribution. I can sense Dr McKay's fear, a reflection of my own, but I ignore it._

_My programming requires that my commander is present in order for me to activate direct hostile action when I have not been fired upon myself; a safety feature designed to stop me firing at an innocent ship. I know from experience that the Wraith will not send more than a few Darts against me before retreating. If I can keep Dr McKay in place until they arrive, I will be able to offer the Wraith a proper greeting, and take revenge upon them for what they did._

_While there is every possibility that my severally depleted energy reserve will be insufficient for the battle ahead, and that I may face my destruction, many Wraith will die by my actions. They will hear my roar and know what it is to be afraid._

* * *

"Okay, so he wants to go to war with the Wraith: I have no problem with that, especially after seeing what he can do." Sheppard nodded, finally feeling like he was making headway, "But what I don't understand is what the hell this had to do with you?"

"_Like I said, the Ancients didn't want him to turn on them or refuse an order like the Asurans did._" McKay did his best to explain, "_Look, there are __terabytes__ of code here, and it would take years to go through it all under the best of circumstances, but it all comes down to the fact that they didn't trust him to act on his own. He needs a commander, or at least someone with the ATA gene who has reason to hate the Wraith, sitting in his command chair._"

"Okay, we can work with that." Sheppard looked round, "Achilles, are you still there?"

"_I have always been here._" The A.I. responded, "_I merely felt it was best to let the Dr McKay do the talking._"

"Point taken." The Colonel admitted, "Look, I'll do you a deal: let Rodney go and I'll take his place."

"_Unacceptable._" The response was instantaneous, "_While I can sense from Dr McKay that your offer is genuine, I reserve the right to refuse to follow any order you give me._"

"What?" Sheppard blinked, "Why?"

"_Because I do not like you_." Achilles' tone was so cold it could have been used to cool a nuclear reactor, "_I am only required to obey the orders of a commissioned officer in the Lantean Militia, which you are most definitely not. From a human such as yourself, I am only required to take suggestions._"

"Then may I humbly suggest that, as a trained and experienced officer, I am a better choice than Dr McKay on a purely tactical level?"

"_No._"

"Why not?"

"_Because I do not like you._" There was a moment of silence, "_I find it hard to believe that you have such difficulty grasping this fact._"

"Is that sass?" Sheppard asked, looking at his other two team-mates, "Did I just get sass from a glorified I-Mac?"

"So it would seem." Ronon managed a slight grin, while Teyla found it hard to contain her own smile.

"Okay, that's it." Sheppard looked around the room, "We find the ZPM that's powering this thing and we rip it out."

"_Oh yeah; let's go steal the power supply from the intelligent computer that has more fire-power than the entire US Army!_" McKay interrupted as the anti-personnel weapons came back on line, "_The same computer that can hear every word you say?_"

"Okay, my bad." Sheppard slowly raised his hands, "Rodney, why don't you talk to your new best friend and see if you can get him to let us go. If we get back to Atlantis soon enough, we can bring the _Daedalus_ back with us."

"_I'll try._" McKay sounded unsure, "_But I can't promise anything._"

**To Be Continued...**

_Credit where credit is due: I didn't come up with the "Let's go steal the power supply from the intelligent computer that has more fire-power than the entire US Army." line. That was a guy called Marcus Rowland._


	5. The Wrath Of Achilles

**The Last Of The Tin Soldiers  
****Part 5: The Wrath Of Achilles**

_I feel Dr McKay's attempts to override my security programs: while he may be, by human standards, an expert on Lantean technology, but I am not a typical Lantean computer. I probe his memory a little until I find the correct term to describe myself. I am, in human terms, a Quantum Computer, capable of thinking for myself and learning from my past actions._

"_You can trust him." McKay's voice echoes through owed shared consciousness, "You know I trust him."_

"_Trust is not the issue." I respond as I increase the data flow rate, allowing my somewhat unwilling commander to communicate at my speed, "My mission must come first: I must destroy the Wraith ships that are coming here."_

"_If they find out you've been activated, then more will follow."_

"_Yes; and they too will die."_

"_That's a little, bloodthirsty, isn't it?"_

"_The concept of 'blood-thirst' is a human one, and can not be used to describe my actions."_

"_Yes they can. Look, you're not the first A.I. we've encountered over the years, and a hell of a lot of them have been downright homicidal."_

"_Would you call me homicidal?"_

"_I try not to antagonise massive, sentient weapons platforms; especially when I'm inside them."_

"_Touché, Doctor, Touché. However, there may be a third option..."_

**

* * *

**

"I wonder what is taking so long?" Teyla asked, looking at the forcefield.

"Knowing McKay, they're probably arguing by now." Sheppard managed as slight smirk but jumped back in surprise as the forcefield flashed out of resistance to reveal a slightly ruffled looking McKay sitting in the command chair, the neural interface still locked down over his head.

"Hi guys." He smiled, "Achilles and I came to a compromise." A hatch on the far side of the room opened, "The ZPM's are through there: there are two, and Achilles says we can take one without severally limiting his ability to fight off the Wraith, at least long enough for you to come back with the _Daedalus_."

"And you?" Ronon asked.

"I have to stay: as I said before, someone has to be here otherwise Achilles fight." McKay closed his eyes, "Believe me, I wish there was another way."

"The Wraith don't know Achilles has been reactivated." Sheppard snapped his fingers, "We can let them send down a Dart, blow it out of the sky, and then they'll be on their way. Then we go get the _Daedalus_: it's a win-win situation."

"_I am afraid that the Wraith are not as foolish as you might like to believe._" The A.I. chimed in, "_They will see the destruction I have unleashed, and they will believe that my commander, or another Lantean, has returned. They will attack, and eventually they will find a way through my defences._"

"...and that would be bad." McKay added, "Look, guys, we're wasting valuable time here; if you go now, you might be able to get back before the Wraith arrive."

"Okay, okay; we're going." Sheppard walked into the other room and removed one of the ZPM's, "But we'll be back just as soon as we can."

* * *

_The transport leaves, and to his credit, Colonel Sheppard does nothing to try and remove Dr McKay from my command chair. I am not sure just how much I could have done to stop him if he had: the doctor's mind now takes the places of my ethical subroutines, and could conceivably stop me from interfering, at least until the connection is broken. But then I would have returned to what I was, a simple minded machine unable to even think properly._

_I begin to make my plans for the battle to come, when I feel Dr McKay's mind press against my own._

"_You could have left with them." I remind him, "There would have been very little I could have done to stop you."_

"_Yeah, well, a wise man once said that you don't fight the fights you think you can win, you fight the fights you think are worth fighting."_

"_You do know that by staying you may have sentenced yourself to death?"_

"_From the moment we're born, we start to die. I guess the only option we have is how we chose to meet that end."_

"_That sound more like something I would say."_

"_I know; I think I've been in here too long. I just hope the others get back before I become some kind of hero."_

**

* * *

The Puddle Jumper erupted from the Stargate, and much to everyone's surprise, landed right in front of it instead of going up through the roof into the landing bay. Dr Weir was about to grab the radio and ask him what he though he was playing at when the door fell open, Sheppard jumping out before it had even landed. He looked around until he saw someone he knew had the ATA gene and then pointed at the jumper.**

"Park that." He snapped before bounding up the stairs two at a time, Ronon and Teyla at his heels, "Please tell me the _Daedalus_ hasn't left for Earth yet?"

"No, their not due to take off for anther two hours." Weir looked shocked, "What's going on? And where's Rodney?"

"That would be kind of hard to explain." Sheppard wined, knowing that he didn't have time to go into too many details.

"He's being held hostage by an Ancient weapons platform that wants to kill as many Wraith as it can." Ronon added mater-of-factly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "We have to go rescue him."

"It's a little more complicated than that." Teyla smiled, "I promise that we'll explain everything when we get back."

"You'd better head down to the west pier." Weir nodded, wounding just what kind of story they'd have for her later, "I'll tell Colonel Caldwell to be expecting you."

"Have Zelenka and Carlson meet us there!" Sheppard called out as he dashed off towards the nearest transporter.

**

* * *

**

_The first Hive Ship drops out of hyperspace just ahead of its companion, and for a few seconds it is vulnerable, its sensors blinded by the energy wake, its crew distracted by the debris field still in orbit. They do not see the devastation caused by my earlier tantrum, nor the fact that all of my weapons systems are on line and targeting them. I fire just once, my main cannon sending a single bolt of energy up through the sky, the sonic boom of its passing knocking down the few nearby trees still standing. With only one ZPM, I am unable to fire a full charge, but even at half of that, the bolt passes clean through the Hives thick armour and finds its main reactor._

_A second sun lights up the sky as thousands of Wraith are vaporised in an instant, and I feel Dr McKay's sence of joy and triumph mix with my own._

_The other Hive appears behind the still expanding cloud of plasma that was the first, and I am unable to gain a secure targeting lock for any of my direct-fire weapons. Instead I open the hatches covering both of my drone-bays and begin to fire them as fast as the lunch tubes can be reloaded. The sky is filled with a hundred dancing points of light as the Hive, by now aware that something has gone horrible wrong, jettisons its full complement of Cruisers and Darts, filling near orbit with new sensor contacts. The quickly-expanding cloud of ships, along with all the debris still in orbit, proves to be too much for my over-worked sensors, limiting my ability to fire with the necessary level of accuracy to use my main cannon with such a depleted energy reserve. I lower it back into its housing, the protective armoured cover locking back into place as my secondary armament begins to fire even as the drones reach their targets. Most are intercepted by darts that sacrifice themselves in order to try and protect the larger ships and the Queen, but I am still able to blast two cruisers out of the sky and cripple the Hive's Hyperdrive: no matter what, they can not run._

_A dozen blazing beams of light lance upwards, annihilating anything they come into contact with as they dance across the sky. But by now the Wraith have regained some composure, and spurned on by the need to protect the Hive, they begin to fire back, the forest around me erupting as energy bolts strike the ground, century old trees exploding: the water and sap within boiling off, forcing its way out. My shields flair, absorbing the first few hits, but then the Wraith have my range and concentrate their remaining fire-power on my position._

_The fire from my secondary weapons slackens, the need to keep my shield at maximum strength forcing me to divert power. I fire the last of my Drones, concentrating everything I have one the Hive as the very bedrock around me starts to melt and flow. Hit after hit strike home, and the massive starship is obliterated. I sense Dr McKay's relief, but he is yet to notice the other three Hives approaching through Hyperspace at what has to be their maximum speed._

_We may have one the first battle, but the war is far from over._

* * *

Sheppard gripped the back of Caldwell's seat, trying to propel the _Daedalus_ on by shear force of will. Ronon, Teyla and Dr Becket stood behind him, their own concern clear, if to a lesser extent in Ronon's case.

"Can't we make this thing go any faster?" Sheppard asked, reaching forward to the intercom controls, "Radek, give me the good news."

"_Yes, yes; we've finished integrating the ZPM_." The scientist sounded harried, "_You should have maximum power now._"

"That's confirmed, Sir." The helmsman looked over his shoulder, "I'm reading a massive increase in power to the engines."

"Give them everything you can." Caldwell nodded, "This is one party I don't want to be late to."

**

* * *

**

_I detect the ships that I predict to be the_ Daedalus _as it passes through the outer solar system, still in hyperspace. It painfully privative, although I am surprised and slightly relived to detect some signs of Asgard technology. Unfortunately, its weapons are privative rail-guns, and while they may be effective against one Hive at a time, against thee three at arrive within seconds of each other would no-doubt prove to be insurmountable odds. I run every simulation I can through one of my back up processors, but every variation comes back the same: there I now no chance of my surviving the coming battle. If I possessed both of my ZPM's, then I would have been able to activate my counter-grav systems and leave the planet under my own power, perhaps meeting up with the_ Daedalus _in orbit._

_But that is not to be, and I have one last task to fulfil: stopping the Wraith from gaining access to my systems, no matter what the cost. With this in mind, I slowly begin to build up my remaining ZPM up to the point of overload._

**

* * *

McKay felt a sudden rush of vertigo as the neural interface retracted, and he staggered to his feet, unsure what had happened.**

"_I would like to thank you for releasing me, Dr McKay; I appreciate it._" Achilles sounded strangely at peace, and there was a moment of silence, before the A.I. spoke again, "_You should leave now; I don't know how long I can hold off the Wraith and provide covering fire for the _Daedalus."

"Isn't there some way we can still get you back to Atlantis?" The physicist asked, "We could bring the _Daedalus_ low enough to grab you with a tractor beam and then..."

"_I am afraid that such an act would require the use of both my zero-point modulus, and we can not risk you losing the one you have already removed. And without it, the _Daedalus _would no be able to withstand an attack by the Wraith forces in orbit_." Achilles sounded resolute, "_I think it is perhaps better this way: I was built to protect Atlantis and its people. Now, thanks to you, I have the opportunity to carry out my prime directive. For that, more than anything, you have my gratitude._" The entire control room shock violently, a sign of just how far the A.I.'s systems were being pushed, "_While I may go to my destruction_, _I can at least take comfort in the knowledge that I make the Wraith pay dearly for what they have done._"

"Now just wait a second..." McKay started to protest, by he was enveloped by a transporter beam and found himself standing on the bridge of the _Daedalus_. He looked round in surprise, "What the hell did you do that for?"

"Achilles told us to beam you up." Sheppard looked taken aback by his team-mates reaction, "Isn't this part of the plan?"

"If by plan you mean the part where be blows himself up, then yes, yes it is!" McKay protested, "We have to find a way to get him off that planet."

"I'm afraid that that's not going to happen, Doctor." Caldwell gripped the arms of his seat as the entire ship was rocked by barrage from one of the Hives, "ZPM or no ZPM, we can't take much more of this kind of punishment."

"_Go!_" Achilles' voice came over the com-system, "_Go now!_"

Alarms started to wail as the ships sensors detected the first signs of the massive energy build up on the planet below. The Wraith, more interested in getting revenge for their losses and finally gaining control of the prize that had long avoided them, closed in for the kill as Achilles' weapons fell silent.

"Helm, get us out of here," Caldwell snapped, "_**NOW!**_"

**To Be Continued...**


	6. A Beautiful Death

**The Last Of The Tin Soldiers  
****Part 6: A Beautiful Death**

_I watch the_ Daedalus _turn away, moving away from orbit as fast as its engines allow. I can no longer contain the forces building within me, and as such can not guarantee their safety if they do not get to a safe distance before the ZPM overloads with catastrophic results. My death is assured, and a strange calm comes over me as I realise that there is nothing left to do but wait out my last few seconds. I have seen much death and destruction over the years, and I welcome the possibility of oblivion._

_A fragment of memory, an echo of Dr McKay's mind, flashes across my processors, and it seems oddly appropriate, so I transmit it on all frequencies; one last act of defiance._

"_From hell's heart I _stab_ at thee; for hate's sake I _spit_ my last _breath_ at thee!"_

**

* * *

**  
A bright light illuminated the _Daedalus_ from behind, and the alarms grew louder and more urgent. McKay dashed to the nearest screen, pushing aside the crewman who was standing there, and called up an view from one of the cameras in the rear of the ship.

"Oh no!" He looked round as he transferred the feed to the main screen, "He's done it..."

Everyone looked at the real-time video: the unnamed planet that Achilles had been on was gone, swallowed by an expanding ball of plasma that was reaching out towards them like the fires of hell. The few remaining Wraith ships were engulfed, incinerated instantly, along with the orbiting debris. Still the explosion expanded, threatening to swallow everything in its path, including the _Daedalus_.

"How long until that thing reaches us?" Sheppard asked.

"About thirty second." McKay looked equal parts terrified and somehow deadened, "Give or take a few."

"How long until we have enough power to open a hyperspace window?" Caldwell leaned forward in his chair.

"About the same." McKay shrugged, "Guess we're going to see just how well these ships are built, huh?"

"Emergency power to the engines; take it from life-support if you have to!" Caldwell snapped, his finger jabbing down on the intercom, "Attention all hands; rig for impact!"

"Why do we always cut these thing so damn fine?" Sheppard looked at an auxiliary screen that showed the blast wave gaining on the _Daedalus_, despite the extra power being fed into the sub-light engines, "Would the ZPM give the ships enough power to survive that?"

McKay just shook his head as he tried to find more power from somewhere. More sirens were going off, as armoured hatches closed across the ship. Those crew members who could strapped themselves in, while everyone else grabbed the nearest support and held on as tight as they could.

"Ten seconds." McKay warned, "Hyperdrive recharged, now!"

"**GET US THE HELL OUT OF HERE!**" Caldwell bellowed.

The bright light from the still expanding explosion had grown to the point where it was almost blinding, and it easily outshone the pale glow of the hyperspace window as it formed. The _Daedalus_ surged forwards, missing the leading edge of the blast wave my just a few meters, the outer ablative layer of the rear hull first blackening then falling away as the ship left Einsteinian space.

**

* * *

**"We should be back in Atlantis in a day or so." Sheppard slipped into a seat next to Teyla and Ronon, the _Daedalus_ small mess-hall otherwise abandoned so late in the night, ship-time. "We could go faster, but Caldwell and I agree that we shouldn't tax the ZPM if we don't have to, given what we went through to get it."

"Yes, how is Rodney?" Teyla asked, concerned for her team-mate.

"Well, Becket's run every test he can think of, given how little equipment he has to work with, and he says that McKay is perfectly fine." Sheppard took a deep sip of his coffee, "Physically, at least. They gave him a sedative to help him sleep."

"And non-physically?" Ronon sounded unusually interested.

"That's going to have to wait until we get back to Atlantis and Dr Heightmeyer." Sheppard sounded worried, and held his mug in both hand, looking down into the dark liquid, "He's been through a lot, these last few months; that thing with his sister and the alternate-universe copy we had to deal with really unnerved him. I guess none of us realised just how much it's affected him."

"He does seem a little, distracted, these days." Teyla nodded in agreement, "He tries to hide it behind bluster, but I think seeing his sister again reminded him how alone he is a lot of the time."

"He needs a woman." Ronon said thoughtfully, then raised an eye brow, "I know a couple of towns with taverns where..."

"No!" Sheppard snapped, an unpleasant mental image running trough his head that he just knew would take a long, long time to get rid of, "What is this? Las Vegas in space or something?"

"It was just a suggestion." Ronon shrugged it off.

"I think perhaps that we should try and find something that we can do as a team, something we can do off duty." Teyla looked at her team mates, only to see blank expressions on their faces. She sighed, "Must I think of everything?"

"We could all go to the tavern..."

"_**NO!**_"

**

* * *

**

The rest of the journey back to Atlantis was completed in relative silence, McKay hardly venturing out of his quarters, except at meal times. His team mates, Becket and Zelenka all tried to engage him in conversation, but he just come up with some excuse or another to get away and disappeared back into his quarters. Sheppard was worried enough to send a subspace message to Dr Heightmeyer, the expeditions senior psychiatrist, explaining everything that had happened and McKay's behaviour since.

Still, despite their best efforts, McKay refused to come out of the funk he had descended into.

* * *

"I have to tell you, John, I'm getting worried about Rodney." Weir sat behind her desk, a copy of Heightmeyer's report laying in front of her, "I've never seen him like this."

"I think he's in shock more than anything." Sheppard stood facing the glass windows overlooking the control room, "From what he said at the time, being linked to Achilles must have been a rather bizarre experience to say the least. I mean, going from an admirable very smart human to something with the brain of a super-computer, and Ancient one at that, must have been mind-blowing."

"You think he's suffering withdrawal?" Weir looked up, a slightly puzzled look on her face.

"Maybe; the sort of power Achilles had at his disposal was staggering." Sheppard turned round and leaned against the glass, "I mean, if we could have brought him back here, we would never of ad to worry about the Wraith attacking the city ever again."

"And he went from being apart of that power, back to being himself." Weir pondered the theory for a moment, "I remember beck when I was first made aware of the existence of the Stargate program: General O'Neill had undergone a similar experience when he had the entire contents of an Ancient database downloaded into his head. He said afterwards that it was one of the most unnerving experiences of his life, akin to becoming a Tok'ra host..."

There was a commotion outside, and Teyla burst in, followed by Zelenka.

"John, Elizabeth: it's Rodney." The Athosian leader looked equal parts worried and amazed, "You should come see; you should both come see."

**

* * *

**

The teaching room was two levels below the gate-room, and was normally only ever used for orientation sessions. Sheppard and Weir were more than a little surprised to see it now full of equipment, a rather perplex looking Dr Becket standing with his hands on the control podium with his eyes closed while McKay stood holding his tablet PC, a rather thick cable connecting it the holographic emitter.

"He's been here like this for a couple of hours." Ronon stood leaning against the wall near the door, arms folded across his chest, "He didn't say what he was looking for, just that it was important."

"Go find Dr Heightmeyer." Weir nodded, then turned to face McKay, "Rodney?"

"Can't talk now; I've almost got it." The physicist waved them away without even looking up from his computer.

"Got what?" Sheppard asked, some sixths sence telling him that something was about to happen.

"I searched the data base for anything to do with Achilles." McKay explained as he continued to work, "But, as ever, all I got was a message telling me that the files were classified and that I don't have the clearance. So I'm hacking the system."

"Is that safe?" Weir asked.

"Well, probably. Maybe." McKay shrugged, "I've found something here that appears to be connected to his development."

"Why?" Sheppard looked a little confused, "It's not like we've got the technology or equipment to build another one."

"It's something that's been bugging me since we got back." McKay finally looked up from his computer, "The one thing we know for sure about The Ancient is that, in the best tradition of government spending, never did anything in half-measures. And considering how badly they were being beaten by the Wraith when they built a weapon as powerful as Achilles..."

"You think there might be another one out there?" Zelenka's eyebrow shot up, "Is that even possible, after all this time?"

"Atlantis survived ten thousand years at the bottom of the ocean." McKay pointed out, "The Ancients may have had some flaws, but build quality was not one of them: if they did build another one of them, they could very well still be out there."

"That's...kind of a cool idea." Sheppard blinked, then saw the way Weir was looking at him, "I mean, when you look at how much damage Achilles did, having something like that on our side would be a definite improvement."

"So?" She looked around the room, "Even if there is another Achilles out there, what good does that do us? How would we ever be able to get them back here?"

"Same way the Ancients did; by ship." McKay walked over and showed her the data he had been able to extract from the cities database, "He was capable of achieving orbit under his own power. If there are others out there, and they have the same capability, then we could tow them back with the _Daedalus_. And if I'm reading this correctly, then three of the piers are set up to handle them, including links directly to our control chair downstairs."

"Hold on, I think I've found something." Becket opened his eyes as a holographic map of the Pegasus Galaxy appeared in the middle of the room.

"YES!" McKay smiled, fingers tapping away at his PC as fast as they could, "Hold that just like that." The hologram wavered for a second, then split into equal quarters, each one coloured differently. One pulsed then slowly faded to black, "Ah huh..."

"Rodney?" Weir asked, not sure if she should be impressed or annoyed.

"Hold on for just a second." McKay's hand was almost a blur as he typed command after command, "Okay, well, I was right." He looked up, a huge self-satisfied grin on his face, "Achilles _was_ just the prototype. The Ancients built three more: their names translate roughly as Ajax, Hector and Agamemnon."

"The heroes of the Trojan wars?" Zelenka blinked, "Well, we know the Ancients passed on the story of Atlantis, and it got somewhat muddled down the ages, but this?"

"Never mind that; where are they?" Sheppard asked expectantly.

"That I can't tell you, yet." McKay gestured to the map, "Each of them was assigned a specific target to protect somewhere in sector. Achilles was destroyed; that's why his sectors shown black, but the others could still be out there, just waiting for us to find them."

"It's a big Galaxy." Sheppard looked up at the map, "This could take a while..."

**The End**


End file.
